Seminars, Are They Worth It?

Will these special events change your game?

Seminars in Jiu Jitsu are very common these days. Regardless of the experience level of the athletes that consider participating, they can be a way to make your overall experience with Jiu-Jitsu more enjoyable.

Supporting seminars are a great way to ensure your academy keeps doing them. Supporting the athlete/coach that teaches the seminar also helps the overall progress of Jiu-Jitsu. High level competitors who get the support they deserve will keep innovating and sharing their best techniques which pushes the overall game of Jiu-Jitsu to another level.  Seminars are a great opportunity to be exposed to high level Jiu-Jitsu.

If your academy is lucky enough to be able to host a seminar, you may ask the question is it worth attending?

As a beginner you may be focused on fundamental techniques and worry about your current ability. It only takes one technique or movement to change your mindset or game. Being exposed to this level of training can be extremely beneficial.

For more experienced grapplers, seminars are a way to reaffirm their technique or even tweak their game for better efficiency.

Seminars can allow you to explore new areas of the game that you might not be exposed to when you are training with the same people day in and day out. A good seminar can plant a lot of seeds within the academy and cause new growth to take place. When people in the gym support a seminar, those athletes can learn a new approach to old techniques or be able to add new aspects to their game.

Regardless of experience level, seminars are a great way to increase your passion for the sport. 

When it comes to cost some may seem, expensive. But here's the thing, it actually costs your Academy or gym money to get the guest coach to your training facility! More often than not your training facility will lose money getting the guest coach to do the seminar.

Whilst you may be paying mat fees, this doesn't include or cover the expense of a guest coach conducting a seminar.

Having high caliber athletes coach seminars depending on where you are can be difficult to get.  You get what you pay for, cheap isn't always good and good isn't cheap.

I remember going to a seminar in Melbourne where the guest coach was almost an hour late because he was waiting for a bottle shop to open so he could by a bottle of whiskey. When he arrived he wasn't drinking water in the drink breaks, he was drinking the whiskey hidden in a paper bag. The seminar cost around $150 and he was a drunk!

Don't take seminars for granted if they come to your training facility.

It is up to the athlete to research who the guest coach is conducing the seminar prior to making a decision to attend. Your coach should know who the athlete is and be able to provide information about the guest coach. Things to consider attending may be;

• the length of time the guest coach has been training/competing
• what their competition credentials are 
• what their lineage is and where they train

You have to remember, the athlete that is coaching the seminar has dedicated their time to the sport/art and are sharing techniques that have made them successful.

In closing, supporting seminars are a great way to ensure your academy keeps doing them. Supporting the athlete/coach that teaches the seminar also helps the overall progress of Jiu-Jitsu. High level competitors who get the support they deserve will keep innovating and sharing their best techniques which pushes the overall game of Jiu-Jitsu to another level.

​And you just never know, you may learn a technique that makes you the next champion at your next competition!